Materia Aromatica

Australia & the Pacific

Myrtaceae leaf oils, three sandalwoods, cypress-pine woods and the islands of the Pacific.

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Materia Aromatica · Origin

Tea tree is commonly taken as the Australian oil. It is one leaf oil among many. The range holds three sandalwoods, a group of Myrtaceae that runs from citral to anethole, and woods from the desert and the tropical north that have no counterpart outside the continent. New Zealand and New Caledonia extend it into the Pacific.

01 · The Region

A continent of Myrtaceae

The Myrtaceae dominate the Australian flora, and most of the continent's leaf oils come from them: Melaleuca, Kunzea, Backhousia and the honey myrtle. Their chemistry is wide. Melaleuca alternifolia is terpinen-4-ol, Melaleuca ericifolia linalool, lemon myrtle citral, anise myrtle anethole. Lemon myrtle and anise myrtle are trees of the subtropical rainforest of the east coast.

The woods come from drier and hotter country. Santalum spicatum is wild-harvested in the arid west. Santalum album, the Indian species, is grown in plantations in the tropical north. Blue cypress, Callitris intratropica, is a tree of the Northern Territory, and white cypress pine grows across the inland. Buddha wood, Eremophila mitchellii, is a shrub of the semi-arid interior. Across the Tasman, kanuka is a New Zealand Myrtaceae. New Caledonia contributes Pacific sandalwood and Neocallitropsis pancheri, a conifer endemic to the island.

Myrtaceae

Leaf oils

Tea tree, rosalina, niaouli linalool, kunzea, kanuka, lemon, anise and honey myrtle.

Santalum

Three sandalwoods

Album from the north, spicatum from the west, austrocaledonicum from New Caledonia.

Inland and north

Woods

Blue cypress, white cypress wood and leaf, buddha wood.

Pacific

New Zealand and New Caledonia

Kanuka, Tasmanian pepper, Pacific sandalwood, araucaria.

02 · The Range

Ten oils, leaf and wood

No. 2780 · AustraliaTea Tree, M.A. / Melaleuca alternifolia (organic)Melaleuca alternifolia · certified organicTerpinen-4-ol with gamma- and alpha-terpinene and para-cymene. No. 2783 · AustraliaTea Tree, M.E. (Rosalina, linalool) / Melaleuca ericifoliaMelaleuca ericifolia · wildLinalool and 1,8-cineole. A softer, floral Melaleuca. No. 2290 · AustraliaNiaouli (Linalool)Melaleuca quinquenervia lin. · wildLinalool with trans-nerolidol and beta-caryophyllene. A linalool chemotype. No. 2182 · AustraliaMyrtle, Lemon (organic)Backhousia citriodora · certified organicGeranial and neral. Among the most citral-rich oils. No. 2188 · AustraliaMyrtle (Anise Myrtle)Backhousia anisata · wildTrans-anethole with methyl chavicol and anisaldehyde. No. 1745 · New ZealandKanukaKunzea ericoides · wildAlpha-pinene with viridiflorol, limonene and 1,8-cineole. No. 2684 · AustraliaSandalwood, Australian (organic)Santalum spicatum · wild-crafted organicAlpha- and beta-santalol, with nuciferol and epi-alpha-bisabolol. No. 2682 · New CaledoniaSandalwood, PacificSantalum austrocaledonicum Vieill. · conventionalCis-alpha- and cis-beta-santalol, with lanceol. No. 3185 · AustraliaCypress, BlueCallitris intratropica · wildGuaiol, bulnesol and the eudesmols. The blue tint comes from guaiazulene. No. 1211 · AustraliaBuddha Wood OilEremophila mitchellii · wildEremophilone and its hydroxylated forms. Smoky, leathery wood.

03 · Side by Side

Sandalwood, citral and one tree

Set the three sandalwoods together. Sandalwood, White (No. 2680) is Santalum album and the reference for santalol. Sandalwood, Pacific (No. 2682) from New Caledonia is close to it, led by cis-alpha- and cis-beta-santalol with lanceol. Sandalwood, Australian (No. 2684), Santalum spicatum, carries santalols alongside nuciferol and epi-alpha-bisabolol, and reads drier and slightly greener. Three species, one genus, one family of alcohols in shifting proportion.

Then the citral oils. Myrtle, Lemon (No. 2182) is almost all geranial and neral. Honey Myrtle (No. 2187), Melaleuca teretifolia, shares the citral core with myrcene and geraniol. Myrtle (Anise Myrtle) (No. 2188) is from the same genus as lemon myrtle and carries anethole instead. Backhousia shows that one genus can hold two unrelated chemical profiles.

Then one tree in two parts. Cypress, White, Leaf (No. 3187) and Cypress, White, Wood (No. 3186) both come from Callitris glaucophylla. The leaf oil is monoterpene: alpha-pinene, limonene, myrcene. The wood oil is sesquiterpene: guaiol, eudesmol and bulnesol, with citronellic acid. The part distilled decides the material.

04 · In Practice

Diffusion, blends and the woods

The Melaleuca, Kunzea and kanuka oils suit diffusion and massage blends. Rosalina and niaouli linalool are the softer of them. Tea tree oils oxidise with age and exposure to air; they are stored closed, cool and dark, and oxidised oil is not applied to skin. Lemon myrtle and honey myrtle are citral-rich and used at low dilution on skin. Anise myrtle is high in anethole and used sparingly.

The sandalwoods are base notes and fixatives in natural perfumery, and suit massage blends and meditation practice. Blue cypress, white cypress wood, araucaria and buddha wood are distinctive woody bases, each with its own facet: blue cypress sweet and woody, buddha wood smoky, araucaria soft and resinous. Tasmanian pepper is hot and spicy and is used in very small proportion.

Essential oils are for aromatic and topical use. Dilute before applying to skin. Keep out of reach of children.